Invitrogen purchases expand reach to nanotechnology

CARLSBAD —— Invitrogen Corp. is growing again. This time, the
impetus is nanotechnology.

The Carlsbad-based biotechnology company said Thursday that it
is buying Quantum Dot Corp. of Hayward and the BioPixels unit of
BioCrystal Ltd., based in Westerville, Ohio.

Invitrogen, which employs 1,000 people in Carlsbad and 4,500
companywide, makes research products used by other biotech
companies and academic research labs. Under the leadership of Chief
Executive Officer Gregory T. Lucier, Invitrogen has acquired many
companies to expand its product line. Also Thursday, Invitrogen
announced the early completion of its already-announced purchase of
Biosource International Inc. for $130 million

The new purchases give Invitrogen a bigger presence in the field
of molecular probes, which enable researchers to track what is
going on inside cells. A probe that attaches to cancer cells could
be used, for example, to mark how a tumor responds to a drug.

Invitrogen said it would discuss financial terms of the
acquisitions in an Oct. 27 conference call. Shares of Invitrogen
closed Thursday after the announcement at $72.42, up 32 cents for
the day.

Quantum Dot makes "nanocrystals," extremely minute semiconductor
particles that can serve as molecular probes. They reveal their
location when laser light is shined on them. BioPixels makes
fluorescent nanocrystals that can attach to antibodies and other
biological molecules.

Nanocrystals are a more stable and versatile molecular marker
for imaging than traditional fluorescent dyes, said Augie Sick,
general manager of Invitrogen's molecular probes division in
Eugene, Oregon. They can even be used to pinpoint the positions of
tumors in whole animals, by exposing them to harmless laser light
that causes the nanocrystals to glow.

"We're in the very early stages of market penetration" with
nanocrystals, Sick said.

If shown to be nontoxic, nanocrystals might even be used in
humans for medical imaging, Sick said. In January of 2004, UC San
Diego researcher Sangeeta Bhatia reported that under certain
circumstances, toxic materials could be produced by nanocrystals.
Research is now under way on making nontoxic nanocrystals.

Outside of medical applications, nanocrystals could become an
anti-counterfeiting measure in currency, Sick said, because bills
embedded with nanocrystals would fluoresce in a characteristic
fashion. Such nonbiological applications would be developed with a
partner, he said.